Clementine's first Christmas.

We spent it with "Grammie" Celeste, Grandpa John, "Great-Grammie", GG, Allen, Susan, Dylan, Jost, Wednesday, Igby and Marla. And three dogs. Goodness. She doesn't quite get it yet, but she likes tearing paper and having new stuff to play with. She is also starting to really want specific people, grabbing and pulling hard. It's kind of sweet. :)

Ah, the train...

Took the train from San Francisco to Denver. We made the two chairs into a bed, filled the gap between the bed and the door, and then napped, crawled, played and ate to our heart's content. I'd forgotten that last year when we took the train Clementine didn't move for 5 hours and really freaked me out. She slept that well again this year. Such a joy -- we saw the Sierras and the Rockies, and spotted 5 bald eagles, big-horned sheep, antelope... In then end, she was pretty happy when we got off the train, but I guess she didn't realize hnow tired she was of it until she got off. Gotta love Amtrak!

How Urban Babies Get Christmas Trees

How Urban Babies Get Christmas Trees
Originally uploaded by audcrane.

So we went to get a Christmas tree the same place we've gone the last two years, Delancey Street Christmas Trees. The Delancey Street Foundation works to "...turn around the lives of substance abusers, former felons, and others who have hit bottom by empowering the people with the problems to become their own solution." We think it's a great cause, and needless to say the guys working the lot are not your average tree salesmen.

Anyway, the other bonus is that we can walk to one of their lots from our house, so just like the last two years we headed out, only last year I was pregnant, and this year there were three of us. Clementine does not bat an eye when a siren goes by, but pushing the stroller through narrow rows of giant trees was just a tiny bit scary(!) But she had lots of fun touching the trees as long as we were holding her. For the walk back... well, as you can see, trees are heavier than babies, right?

More photos of decorating and the traditional Christmas Pauline's Pizza on Flickr.

...and as of this weekend...

Cookie dough (Not our fault, at least not directly -- she crawled up to the bowl and pulled the spoon out while we weren't looking. So much for waiting until her 1st birthday for white sugar. She *likes* cookie dough). And whipped cream (Also not our fault, she got it while someone else was holding her at the office cooking school Christmas party. So much for waiting for her first birthday for non-cheese-or-yogurt dairy. She *likes* whipped cream).

A Girl and Her Pickle

A Girl and Her Pickle
Originally uploaded by audcrane.

I wanted to make a note of what Clementine has eaten so far... Because I think it's kind of cute. As you can see, the first thing on the list is cornichon (which, by the way, didn't phase her at all). Here's everything I can think of:
cornichon
cantelope
strawberries
bananas
apples
blueberries
grapes
pears
prunes
avocados
edamame
sweet potatoes
potatoes
butternut squash
acorn squash
green beans
carrots
broccoli
tofu
egg yolks
naan
raita
baguette
corn tortillas
buffalo mozzarella
fontina
plain yogurt
teething biscuits
oaty-o's
rice cereal
These are all the things she's ever eaten in her whole entire life. (Oh, and crayons. And cat food. Ack. Cack.)